He later died from his injuries in hospital. Police have closed off roads between Brook Street and Plungington Road as they investigate.

DI Pete Danby from Preston Police said: “We are still very much in the early stages of our enquiries including trying to identify the victim and are trying to piece together his movements and how he came about these injuries.

“It is possible that he was assaulted by another man near to or on Brook Street as we have found some clothing there which may belong to the victim.

“Did you see the victim wandering around the area? Do you think you saw the offender? If you have any information that could assist us, please get in touch.

“I would like to reassure local residents that we have a team of officers investigating this and we have stepped up our presence in the area.”

Police near the community centre in Plungington

A post mortem examination to establish the cause of the man’s death will take place in due course.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident reference 768 of January 1st 2017. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.